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Book Review of The Year of Magical Thinking

The Year of Magical Thinking
reviewed on
Helpful Score: 2


This is a poignant story of grieving the death of your spouse. I have recommended it so many times because I think that I would provide some sense of validation to the feelings that a surviving spouse experiences,and others would not understand. Joan Didion writes about her husband's sudden passing on New Year's Eve upon returning from the hospital where they had visited their comatose only child (a newly married young woman). So they are already experiencing a heartbreaking matter in their lives (they adopted her and so it has just been the three of them). When John Dunne (also an acclaimed writer) passes, Joan has to come to terms -- over time, the year) with so many routine and "normal" things that fill our lives. It is touching and sad, but it is relevant to anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one. If that is you, do your self a favor and read this. You will feel understood and no longer alone in your experience. I don't buy/acquire a book until I love it so I was excited to get this book in hardback after I read it when it first came out. It is a keeper.